A Friend to Lean On
by snoozin81
Summary: Holiday's aren't always peace on earth and good will. When Spinner is faced with a black holiday an good friend is by his side.


The snow was falling heavy, dampening her hair and brushing a blush across her cheeks. She paid it little notice, concentrating instead on the automatic doors opening and closing in front of her. Each movement they made assaulted her nose with the overly clean scent that covered up the death and misery this place represented.

She hugged the box in her hands closer to her chest, shielding its red and green wrapping paper from the wet flakes. The gold bow quivered as a gust of wind whipped at it, trying desperately to dislodge it from its spot on top of the package. The corner had already begun to tear loose so with a heavy sigh, Terri mentally pushed herself through the slowly closing doors and made her way towards the front desk.

The frail man lying in the bed was not the man she remembered. His reassuring smile had been transformed into a thin, transparent line and his normally bright blue eyes which had always been so full of laughter were now a dark gray that almost mirrored the winter storm raging outside. Toned arms that had picked her up when Paige had "accidentally" knocked her down had gone limp, the muscles deteriorated by chemo and radiation. Her stomach lurched at the stranger, the shadow of a man who had been like a second father to her. For a split second she'd thought maybe, just maybe, she had stumbled into the wrong room but a soft arm came down around her shoulders and the familiar scent of Mrs. Mason's perfume had her backtracking to the doorway.

The second she was out of the room she saw him, sitting at the end of the hallway watching the snow through the large picture window. It was falling harder now, large flakes mixed with ice that made it hard to see more than a few inches in front of you. His head was resting against the back of the chair, his eyes flickering shut only to jerk back open. She thought about running, turning around and fleeing the building, the memories, the pain, but he'd always been willing to listen, to offer her a shoulder to cry on when she needed to talk about her mother.

His eyes shifted from the window to meet her gaze, a small, weary smile pulling up the corners of his lips. Again she forced herself to move, closing the distance between them and taking the empty seat beside him.

"Hey, Spin." she offered softly, trying to keep her voice from quivering.

His voice shook. "How come you're not at Paige's party?" he asked, rubbing at the puffiness under his eyes in an attempt to hide the fact that he'd been crying.

Terri shrugged, placing the present that she had delicately wrapped down on the table that sat between them and pulled off her jacket. "You know...parties aren't really my thing," she explained. "Besides I figured you could probably use some company."

"Afraid I'm not much fun these days." he replied, his voice conveying an apology that he didn't need to make. His eyes flickered down the hall to the open doorway of his father's room. "He's worse you know," he added, eyes shining on the verge of tears. "Probably won't make it through the holidays."

Her eyes fell to the floor and suddenly the chair she was sitting in became increasingly uncomfortable. She wanted to reach out and take his hand, to wrap her arms around him and hug him tightly. Instead she wound her fingers into the hem of her sweater and sunk down further into the vinyl. An awkward silence hung over them, both their gazes drifting to the window and the white blanket that lay beyond it.

"What's that?" Spin finally asked, noticing the perfectly wrapped package sitting between them.

"It's not much," Terri explained with a small smile, sliding the box closer to him. "I drew your name for the Secret Santa...I wasn't sure if you'd be back to school before the holidays or not."

His forced smile relaxed and the tears disappeared in his excitement. "Can I open it now?"

Terri laughed lightly, nodding as her own excitement caught wind. She scooted to the edge of her seat and watched as his fingers tore through the thin paper and quickly pulled the tape away from the box. Inside, nestled between several layers of tissue paper was a sterling silver picture frame, the word 'FRIENDS' written across the top in big, bold, black letters. Inside the frame was a colored 5 x 10 photo of the gang hanging over the side of Spinner's pool, laughing and smiling as his father encoded the moment on thirty-five millimeter film.

His smile widened as he traced the lines of his friend's faces. "I remember this day," he recalled fondly, the memory playing out in his head. "I got sunburnt and Paige got mad because Jimmy and I picked her up and threw her in."

"She'd just gotten her hair done," Terri added.

"Right," he nodded enthusiastically. "Dylan was bringing his hockey friends home and Paige wanted to look perfect."

They both laughed, their entire bodies shaking with hysterics earning them several disapproving looks from the nurses station.

"Thank you, Terri." Spinner replied warmly, sitting the present down and reaching over to hug his friend. "It means a lot having you here," he added against her ear.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be." she assured him, her own arms wrapping around him and hugging him tightly.

**-0-0-**

Christmas Eve brought yet another snow storm forcing the crowd to squeeze in under a thin blue tarp. Terri stood next to Spinner despite Paige's protests, the fabric of her winter jacket rubbing against the fabric of his. Out of the corner of her eye she could see his tear stained cheek kissed red by the harsh winter wind, his lips trembling as he tried to fight off the emotions that kept his back rigid and his eyes straight ahead.

Their parents sat in front of them, her father clutching his mother's hand in understanding. Once upon a time the roles had been reversed, it had been the McGreggor's in mourning and the Mason's offering support. Terri's hand instinctively reached for Spinner's, her icy finger's webbing between his. She saw him grimace but he didn't pull away.

She held tight until the preacher stepped aside, making room for Spinner and his family to pay their final respects. The crowd behind her began to retreat but she stood stalk still watching as Kendra and Spinner placed white roses against he mahogany wood, the petals blending in with the snow. It wasn't until they embraced their mother that Terri's feet began to move. They led her through the rows of stones to a very familiar plot. Her shaking hands cleared the snow from atop the cold granite before winding down to trace the grooves that spelled out her mother's name.

"Does it get any easier?" he asked from behind her, his voice cracking against the wind.

She shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself as she turned to face him. "There's always going to be days where it's unbearable, days where you want them to be there. Days where you NEED them to be there. But it helps to be around people who care. Friends, family...they make it easier."

He nodded, a tear breaking loose and making it halfway down his round cheek before freezing to his pale skin. Terri's heart ached for him, for the months of misery he had suffered through and the months ahead that would be just as hard. She swore to herself that she'd be there for him, help him in any way she could and as another tear froze at the corner of his eye she moved closer, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him comfortingly.


End file.
